In Plymouth, for many, Stephens Field brings back cherished memories—a park by the sea where folks have gone to meet friends, play tennis and baseball, and just have fun since 1930, when the Stephens family donated the land. Lately, the park has been in a rough condition, but improvement has begun, according to David Gould, Director of Marine and Environmental affairs…
WATD’s Bobbi Clark has more…
Director David Gould reports that within the last week…
“…the contractor has mobilized on site and closed the park for the construction. We are finally moving ahead with the actual improvements.”
And those improvements include addressing the contaminated soil on the property, which Gould says has an interesting history…
“… it’s actually an old filled salt marsh, so there’s some legacy of what was filled, or used for fill in that process. It was also the old A.K. Finney bus station. It was also a DPW facility.”
So Gould says…
“… there’s a history of some hydrocarbon impacted soil, oil and gas there, and we’ll be resolving those as we construct through the project and making sure it’s in compliance with DEP regulations, which is a big part of the project.”
And the project continues in the coming months, including:
“…lots of improvements for drainage and sidewalks, and pedestrian pathways, but also new tennis courts, new pickle ball courts, a new basketball court, improvements to the baseball/softball field, and new playground equipment, a bath house and a small concession stand.”
So what does all this cost?
“It’s a little over 5 million for the actual construction.”
And how is it funded?
“…it’s a combination of Community Preservation Act funds as well as recently approved ARPA funds that the Select Board put towards the project.”
In Plymouth, Bobbi Clark, WATD News.
